Chase
by Angel-wing2
Summary: Lelouch is all set to meet his fiancee, but is sidetracked by a mysterious girl who unfortunately enjoys making his life miserable. Balls, battles and kissing ensue! Lelouch x C.C., Kallen x Suzaku semi-AU
1. Chapter 1

Title: Chase  
Category: Anime/Manga » Code Geass  
Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

**Chapter 1**

Lelouch was dreaming. The dark-haired young man stirred in his sleep and the white sheets crumpled as he moved about. The morning sun had begun to sting his eyes as he slowly felt the drowsiness that accompanied mornings leave him. He couldn't remember what the dream was about again.

"Ohayo, Lelouch-sama." Sayako said as she drew the curtains back. Lelouch squinted as the sun hit his face with full force.

He threw the covers over his head. "It's still early, Sayoko-san." He grumbled.

* * *

Literature, Philosophy, Algorithms, the Arts. Lelouch looked at the subjects for that day. Not bad. Only later, they had horseback-riding. What a drag.

"Ohayo, Lelouch!" Suzaku, Lelouch's best friend, and son of Japan's Prime Minister greeted him.

"Lulu!" Shirley waved and smiled at him sweetly. Milly and Rivalz caught up with her. It was early and classes had not started yet.

* * *

Later that day, after academics, they still had physical education. It was not as bad as Lelouch had feared.

"So what do you think?" Suzaku asked as they walked their horses back to the stable. "I'm glad Father hasn't made me choose yet." He said, relief evident in his voice.

They were discussing the fact that Lelouch was, so to speak, going to be paraded around in some grand, overdone party, later this week, in search of _the fiancée._

"If I had my way, I'd postpone it until at least my twenties!" Lelouch sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I guess it can't be helped, though."

* * *

Lelouch, Nunnaly and Suzaku sat at the veranda as the sun began to set, it was dusk and they were resting after a particularly busy day.

"It would be fun if things were just like this, hm?" Nunnaly sighed contentedly as she sipped her tea.

"Yeah." Suzaku smiled.

Lelouch stared quietly at nothing in particular. It was a quiet late afternoon and a cool breeze wafted by lazily. Then something caught his eye from a distance. It seemed like the bushes were moving suspiciously in an area a few meters from where they sat. He frowned and squinted at the dubious peach rose bush. It moved again.

The young man stood up. "Excuse me for a moment." He said.

Suzaku and Nunnally looked at him quizzically. "Where are you going? Nunnaly wondered aloud. Suzaku shrugged. "Maybe the bathroom?"

"Or not." He looked Lelouch as the latter seemed to be poking around rose bushes.

Lelouch approached the curious bush when something or _someone_ suddenly pushed him with full force and darted away quickly. Unfortunately, this area of the garden was densely planted with shrubbery and low trees, and he couldn't see just what the intruder looked like. Caught by surprise, he fell on his backside. Undaunted, Lelouch stood up and ran in the direction of rustling leaves.

It seemed that the intruder didn't know where he was going and all they were doing was running in circles. It was getting dark and poor Lelouch was out of breath. "Stop, stop!" he wheezed. For all the confused running about, Lelouch knew where they were—nearing a dead end. He ran full out, and collided with…

…a girl. The momentum of his running knocked them both on the ground. She was staring at him with panic and panting just as much as he was, all the while struggling to get him off of her. "Who…are…y.." Lelouch said breathlessly as he tried to keep the young girl from flailing around so much.

She was rather pretty, Lelouch thought to himself as he tried to collect his wits and get his breathing under control. The girl had wide golden eyes, waist length silky green hair and a slender build. She was dressed rather lavishly for an intruder, wearing a heavy green velvet dress, and was probably of the nobility, Lelouch guessed.

The girl frowned and tried to push him off her once more. "Hey." Lelouch asked "Who are you and what are you doing intruding on this estate?"

"Are you Lelouch Lamperouge?" she said in reply, ignoring, Lelouch's question. Even her low melodious voice was pretty.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How do you know who I am?"

She looked at him strangely and nuzzled his neck in a gentle, almost shy manner. Lelouch blushed to the roots of his hair and nearly jumped out of his skin. _What the heck?_

"You smell so good." the girl murmured.

To Lelouch's surprise, she successfully disentangled herself from him and took off immediately. He had no choice but to pursue her again. Lelouch was really getting annoyed. _Damn her for distracting him like that!_

* * *

Back on the veranda, Nunnally and Suzaku were wondering what on earth happened to Lelouch.

"I'll look for him, okay?" Suzaku said, as Nunnally voiced her worry to him.

* * *

The annoying girl was headed for the hangar. Unfortunately for him, she got there first. He knew it was too late She had gotten in the cockpit of Lelouch's Gawain and entered the access code. Lelouch worriedly checked his pockets. _Oh no._

Of course his key was gone. _That damnable girl…_

Lelouch watched helplessly as Gawain blasted off. The Knightmare Frame hovered a few meters from the ground and the cockpit opened. 'My name is C.C. It was nice meeting you, Lelouch." The girl called out and blew the flabbergasted prince a mocking kiss. Then she was gone.

"Lelouch! What happened to you?" Suzaku ran toward the hapless Lelouch who was staring at Gawain, whose silhouette he could hardly see in the evening sky.

"That girl, C.C." Lelouch said, still quite not recovered from his shock. "She'll pay for this."

-

-

-

A/N: Hello, minna-san. I'm back. Been kind of busy... ^^; Well, let's just say they have lousy security. XD


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Chase  
Category: Anime/Manga » Code Geass  
Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass. Duh.

-

**Chapter 2**

-

"So, who is this C.C.?" Suzaku asked a very irate Lelouch.

The Britannian Prince did not reply, but instead continued tapping furiously on his laptop.

"You might find her there, huh?" Suzaku continued his monologue while teasing Arthur, the cat, with a ball of yarn. How Lelouch got his Knightmare Frame stolen frankly amazed him, true, security was a bit lax, but to actually pull it off was a different matter.

Finally, the incessant tapping had stopped. Suzaku looked up curiously, Arthur took advantage of this and clamped his jaws on Suzaku's finger. "Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Found her." Lelouch smiled deviously.

* * *

This is absolutely _idiotic. _Suzaku thought as he crawled through dense foliage in someone's garden. Not only were they _trespassing, _but Lelouch had also convinced him to bring his Knightmare Frame Lancelot just in case this C.C. girl used Gawain against them. They had hidden Lancelot in a nearby hilly area and infiltrated a large, well-guarded manor in which Lelouch had claimed was where C.C. lived.

"What's your status?" the com device connecting him to Lelouch beeped in his ear.

"Nothing suspicious. No sign of Gawain either." Suzaku replied quietly. "How about you?"

"I'm near their hangar, but there are a lot of guards here. Too many for me to take down." Lelouch sighed. _As if he could._"I'll take a different route."

"Roger that." Suzaku said.

He looked around, all clear. He was about to move on to another area when someone suddenly slugged, or tried to slug him. Suzaku dodged the punch by mere millimeters.

It was a girl, about his age. She had red hair, wore a form-fitting red bodysuit and looked very annoyed. He stared in shock when she flicked out a rather large pocketknife. "I'm going to have to kill you." She said

"Wait—I…" Suzaku managed to duck the swift blows. By the way she moved, this girl was no amateur. But then again neither was he. Wait, he was a _guy._

"Wait—please, I don't want to fight you!" Suzaku protested again. The girl ignored him and continued to hack away, her knife glinting dangerously.

Their deadly dance continued, with Suzaku barely avoiding the girl. With much difficulty, he finally caught her wrist. Even then, she kicked him, so he tackled her, sending the weapon a few yards from the two of them.

"Suzaku?" Lelouch's voice on the com device interjected.

"I'm kind of—busy Lelouch..." Suzaku gritted out. He tried ducking again, but it was too late.

The redhead landed an uppercut and hit Suzaku squarely on the jaw, knocking the com device off.

* * *

The line went dead. _Crap. _Lelouch thought, he'd have to find Suzaku fast.

"Going somewhere, Lelouch?" the Britannian Prince spun around and saw C.C. smirk. She was wearing a white fitted mecha pilot's suit, likely she'd just been using Gawain. Her hair was a bit messy, and her suit was dirty, like she'd been running in some rocky field. He felt no need to comment on her appearance though.

"You!" he growled.

The green-haired girl rolled her eyes. "I'm just borrowing Gawain, you don't need to get so worked up about it."

* * *

Suzaku had never fought, or in this case, defended against, such a determined opponent. He really didn't want to fight a girl, for crying out loud, but she would kill him if he slipped up. So he did what any self-respecting idiot would do. He ran.

Kallen Stadfeld was not amused. "Come back here you coward!" she scowled and ran after him.

* * *

"Lelouch!" As luck would have it, Suzaku found the Britannian, who appeared to be talking to a green-haired girl. He knew that the redhead couldn't be far behind, as well as a battalion of guards who had been alerted to the presence of intruders.

"C.C." Lelouch said "I know all about you. Just give it up already. Are you playing a prank on me?"

"Lelouch, we don't have time for this conversation!" Suzaku said "A girl back there just tried to kill me, this place is insane."

The said girl arrived, and pointedly ignored the two boys. "C.C., the guards are coming, we can't let Lady Cecile catch us like this."

C.C. nodded, and turned to Lelouch. "Hmm..looks like we should continue this another time, ne, Lelouch?

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. "Let's go, Suzaku. We're coming in through the front door instead. I'm merely on a visit to meet one of my possible fiancées." Lelouch said derisively.

The green-haired girl raised an eyebrow. _Was he being cocky? Well, whatever. She was ready for anything._

_

* * *

_

"Lady Cecile, two intruders have been captured inside the premises." The guard reported.

"Oh?" Cecile looked up from her tea. "I'll see them."

* * *

Minutes later, Lelouch and Suzaku were sitting in the drawing room. Lady Cecile hadn't stopped apologizing for her guards' rude behavior.

"I'm so glad you've taken an interest in our C.C." Cecile smiled. "She's somewhat shy, but she's a very good girl, so well-behaved."

_What? _Lelouch grumbled inwardly.

"Oh, here they are now. Princess Chole Catherine and Lady Kallen Stadfeld. They're cousins, and right now, I'm their legal guardian." Lady Cecile smiled. "Such well-bred, ladylike girls."

Lelouch shot Suzaku a look when he nearly snorted.

* * *

C.C. and Kallen entered the room. They looked so calm and refined, not a wrinkle on their silk dresses, and not a hair out of place. It looked like they had spent the whole day doing needlework or flower arranging.

He was aghast at this C.C. Her whole demeanor had changed from sarcastic, conniving witch to meek lamb. She curtsied politely and apart from agreeing with everything subserviently, she just sat quietly on a large velvet couch.

Suzaku on the other hand, stared at Kallen, whose face he could now get a better view of, now that she wasn't trying to kill him. She was rather attractive, he thought. Too bad she had such a nasty streak. Kallen coughed delicately.

Lady Cecile noticed Suzaku's jaw, which was turning a dark shade of purple where Kallen had punched him. "My, what happened to your face?"

"I-uh. Fell down" Suzaku laughed nervously. "My balance on the horse isn't very good." He looked at Kallen accusingly. She coughed again, as if to spite him.

"Oh, poor Kallen has always been frail and sickly, so she avoids strenuous activities like that." Cecile said kindly, and patted Kallen's head on her way out. "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me. I'll leave you young people alone for a bit."

Suzaku nearly choked on his biscuit. _Frail? Sickly?_

Lelouch leaned back and sighed. "This is really quite a show, C.C., Kallen."

C.C. eyed him coolly. "I've thought of returning your Gawain, but I seem to want to change my mind now." the girl said melodramatically, "because Lelouch is being mean to his fiancée." She pouted.

Lelouch frowned. _What on earth did this crazy girl want from him? _

Suzaku and Kallen were engaged in a heated staring match. Lelouch suddenly had an idea. "Look, here's the deal, Suzaku and Kallen can fight in their Knightmare Frames. If Suzaku wins, return Gawain, no questions asked."

"Out of the question, Lelouch." C.C. frowned.

"But if I win, Gawain's ours." Kallen interrupted. "I accept." _Just how did this Prince know about her Guren anyway? I won't lose to that trash._

If C.C. was surprised, her face didn't show it. _Damn that Lelouch for playing on Kallen's competitive nature, _she thought to herself.

Lady Cecile re-entered the room. Lelouch stood up. "Our thanks, Lady Cecile, we shall be taking our leave. We look forward to seeing Princess C.C. and Lady Kallen, this Saturday if it is alright with you?"

Lady Cecile smiled graciously. "Oh, of course Your Highness." She said "It's a--, what do the commoners call it? A date, a date." She looked slightly flushed and pleased with herself that the Prince had taken an interest in her somewhat dull niece.

"Yes, it's a date." Lelouch smirked at C.C. who seemed torn between nodding meekly and throwing the entire tea set at him.

-

-

-

A/N: Err...was anyone OOC? I'll reveal why C.C. needs Gawain in the next chapter(s). Thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter. Oh, by the way, I guess this is going to be a Suzaku x Kallen too. ^,^ I know it ain't that popular, but what the heck? Oh, and does anyone know the name of Kallen's Guren's microwave arm? After looking around, all I got was radiation-emitting arm. It sounds so cumbersome. o_O Anyway, thanks for reading!~ Comments welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Chase  
Category: Anime/Manga » Code Geass  
Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass.

-

-

**Chapter 3**

Lelouch stood patiently as the royal tailor took his measurements. He had forgotten that the ball was on _Saturday. _The scheduled date of "the date/battle".

He sighed. No backing out now. The two girls would be there anyway, so, perhaps at night, after the party? Geez, such a tight schedule. It would be a bother to return to C.C.'s manor to reschedule. And very suspicious too, Lady Cecile would think that he actually liked the green-haired girl or other such nonsense. Plus C.C., would scoff at him. He could just imagine her mocking, _What, you need more time to prepare, Lelouch?_

"Darn her." Lelouch muttered.

"Excuse me?" the puzzled tailor asked.

* * *

Suzaku was walking to the Japanese Consul Building when a flash of red a few meters away caught his eye. It was Kallen. She was in disguise, wearing a black trench coat, large hat and sunglasses, but he still managed to tell that it was her.

"Kallen!" he shouted.

Either she didn't hear him or deliberately ignored him, the redhead continued walking. Suzaku followed.

The girl got on a delivery van, but Suzaku had caught up with her and got on the passenger seat, as the door was unlocked.

She removed her glasses and stared at him. "What do you want?" she huffed, "You were causing a scene back there."

"So you did hear me?" Suzaku asked "And you didn't even stop?"

Kallen glared at him. "Well, who says I have to, Kururugi?" She started the van and zoomed off.

Suzaku said nothing but grasped tightly on the handrail as Kallen wove through the traffic like it was nothing.

"Uhm. That was a red light, you know?" Suzaku said with poorly concealed alarm.

* * *

He just had to reschedule the fight. Lelouch looked at clock on the wall. Half-past nine in the morning. There was still time.

* * *

Lelouch announced his visit to C.C. this time. Lady Cecile was beside herself with glee.

"Oh, he was here just yesterday! Now he just has to see dear C.C. so much that he had to come again today!" Lady Cecile remarked happily. "I'm sure Prince Lelouch has made his choice already!"

C.C.'s guardian allowed them to go on the "date" two days early, unchaperoned, on account of her niece's "exceptionally good conduct."

Lelouch scoffed. _What a joke. That C.C. was just about as well-behaved as a particularly ill-tempered buffalo._

C.C. looked delighted to see him. "Perfect timing Lelouch! I was just about to sneak out, but now I have the perfect excuse." She latched onto the Prince's arm before he could protest and half-dragged him into the waiting stretch limousine.

Lelouch looked down at his companion and marveled at how nice she looked with her strange green hair in a loose bun, peaches and cream complexion and amber eyes. She wore a light frilly cream-colored dress embroidered with tiny pink rosebuds. So dainty. She looked so slender, almost waif-like.

Even he would have been fooled had he not seen her take his Knightmare Frame and subsequently make him risk his best friend's life, fighting, against an even more violent Kallen. Who knew what she was doing this for anyway? He wouldn't have been surprised if she was a terrorist on the side.

Before long, he was staring at her.

"See anything you like?" C.C. whispered.

Lelouch jerked away almost violently. C.C. laughed heartily. Lelouch was so _amusing. _She decided that she liked him.

* * *

"You're, overspeeding, Kallen. Just a reminder." Suzaku wondered why they hadn't been arrested yet. "Just where are we going anyway?"

"Officially, it's violin lessons today." Kallen replied.

Suzaku looked at her quizzically. "Out here?" They were in the outskirts of the city, near the mountains. Even the road wasn't paved anymore. It looked like the middle of nowhere.

Suzaku looked at the girl beside him curiously, taking care not to look like he was observing her. She was gruff and didn't converse much, but he felt drawn to her somehow. That she wasn't trying to kill him was saying something.

Truth be told, she wasn't his type. Or maybe that was just what he thought. He admired her strength, he supposed. And he found her very attractive. _Just a crush. Maybe._

Kallen wondered what he was thinking. Just going off with someone who was supposedly his enemy. Kururugi was naive, she decided. She also noticed that she was being watched, by this guy, who so obviously looked like he was staring out the window.

"Uhm, Kururugi. Sorry about..." Kallen said and pointed to her jawline and smiled weakly, but never took her eyes off the road.

"Hey, apology accepted." Suzaku grinned. "We were in the way. And, oh, you can call me Suzaku."

Kallen frowned. _Were they all buddy-buddy now? Pah. He was really so nice it got on her nerves._

"I won't go easy on you when I'm on Guren." Kallen replied. "And neither should you, if you want Gawain back." She added.

"But your Knightmare Frame's not here." Suzaku shot back. "We're not fighting right now."

"Riiight." Kallen replied. He was so strange.

* * *

"Look, C.C. I just wanted to tell you that the fight between Guren and Lancelot has to be rescheduled. The ball..." Lelouch trailed off when he saw that the annoying green-haired witch wasn't listening to him at all.

He twitched. "Am I paying for all this?" C.C. had raided all the expensive shops and had been paying no attention to Lelouch for the last two hours.

C.C. smiled at him and Lelouch almost melted. _Almost. _"Yes, as a matter of fact, you are paying."

"C.C.! This is not a date." Lelouch said weakly.

"Because you've been good, we're going for pizza after this." C.C. said, smiling. "What were you saying again?"

"Nothing." Lelouch sighed.

"Is that...Prince Lelouch?" A brown-haired girl gushed. "Dear me, you're right!" another squealed. "But who is that with him?"

C.C. eyed them discreetly. Even though the two of them were dressed in commoners clothing, Lelouch was still too recognizable to go unnoticed. "You're quite popular, Lelouch." She said.

"..."

The girls eyed him. It was so obvious that they were staring that he became uncomfortable. "Are you done here, C.—"

* * *

Lelouch and C.C. walked out of the shop. One was red like a tomato and the other had a smug look on her face.

The girls who were left in the store were quiet with shock. Then the delayed *squee!* reaction set in. "Did you see?! They kissed!" And proceeded to talk about it for the rest of the day.

"C.C.—what on earth was that for?" a blushing Lelouch asked.

* * *

"What is this place?" Suzaku asked as the delivery van skidded to a halt in front of a large imposing building.

"You'll see." Kallen paused. "May I have your word that none of this reaches Lelouch?"

They stared at each other silently. Suzaku nodded. "You have my word."

"No, 'why'?" Kallen said. "You are strange," she stopped a bit before saying "Suzaku."

"You must have your reasons." He replied.

* * *

Lelouch stood on the manor threshold as C.C.'s servants unloaded her things. _What a tiring day._

"About what I've been trying to say all day..." Lelouch tried again. Was she still not listening?

"Saturday morning." C.C. said, not even looking up from her pizza. She was _still_ eating? It was take out from the Pizza Hut where they had eaten. "Ball's in the evening, right? Then battle in the morning."

"Are you crazy?" Lelouch stopped himself from shrieking. All his hard work today for nothing. It was enough to make a grown man weep.

"Take it or leave it Prince." She looked at him more seriously. "If you insist then Gawain's ours."

-

-

-

A/N: Hope you liked. Just curious, what do people think of the Kallen x Suzaku pairing? I think it's kind of cool. Thanks for the reviews! You people are wonderful. ^__^


	4. Chapter 4

Category: Anime/Manga » Code Geass  
Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass.

A/N: Special thanks to Velshard for technical information about Guren. I have never had to understand Nuclear Physics to write a fic.o_O

-

-

**Chapter 4**

It was a very cold Saturday morning and Kallen stood shivering outside her Knightmare Frame. _Did she really have to kill Suzaku today?_

She could remember the shock on his face when she showed him the Orphanage where the Geass children were hiding. The reason why she and C.C. were going this far. The Geass children were kidnapped by the Britannian government and had often, cruel experiments conducted on them. It was a big job for two girls so they needed a Knightmare Frame that could wipe out a large number of enemies in an instant. That was Gawain.

Their first run-in with the Britannian army had been successful, but not all of the children had been rescued. The Geass facility was huge.

Kallen sighed again. She had seen how Suzaku had been swayed, even just a little to their side, as understanding dawned on him. She had refrained from actively convincing him to actually help them. Kallen wasn't really expecting him to, and she was right.

"Still, murdering the Britannians who run and protect the facility is wrong." He had said "There must be some other way! How about letting the public know? We also have Lelouch..."

Kallen shook her head. Was he always like this? So naive. It was the government behind all this, and Lelouch was the Crown Prince! "You're in no position to say whether our methods are wrong."

She had started to unload the food and supplies from the van. She and C.C. took turns visiting the Orphanage, and this week it was her turn.

Suzaku took a large crate from her. "I'll help you." He said "...with the food. As promised I won't tell Lelouch."

She let him help her and her gaze (and opinion of him) softened a bit as he volunteered to even cook for them. They ended up preparing the food together in the kitchen like a married couple. The children ate and looked at Suzaku warily.

They were children. The only outwardly strange thing about them were the "Geass" symbols on their foreheads.

* * *

On their way back, Suzaku insisted on driving, saying that Kallen was tired, although she suspected he was worried she would drive through red lights again. She let him, and due to utter exhaustion had dozed off. _Chivalry was not dead!_

It was not until they were in the city again did she wake, and with a blush, note that she had fallen asleep on Suzaku's shoulder.

But today was the day. It was inevitable. Kallen had done her research and knew that Suzaku's Lancelot was a very powerful Knightmare Frame, the perfect match to her Guren. She'd give him one hell of a fight. _No, Suzaku'd get no sympathy from her._

_

* * *

  
_

"Lelouch, do I really have to do this?" Suzaku asked.

"Look, you don't have to kill her." Lelouch answered. "Just win. Pin her down, disable Guren, whatever. Of course it's easier said than done."

Suzaku didn't look too convinced. From what he knew of Kallen, she would fight to the death. It was just her personality. If her fighting skills were any indication, he was in for a tough time.

They had arrived at the designated spot first. It was still early. Lelouch had brought his temporary new Knightmare Frame, Shinkiro.

In a few minutes, two flecks in the sky appeared, one red, and the other was black. Gawain and Guren landed close to Lancelot and Shinkiro. C.C. alighted.

Kallen remained in her cockpit. She didn't want to see Suzaku today. Not face to face at least. Suzaku nodded grimly and entered Lancelot.

The two Knightmare Frames faced each other. Dawn was breaking, and the rays of the sun flitted through the chilly fog. The atmosphere was tense.

* * *

"Look, Kallen. I don't want to do this." Suzaku said over the comm line."but, we'll end this quickly."

The redhead said nothing. In a flash she was behind him. The battle had begun.

* * *

"C.C., she's your cousin, right?" Lelouch asked. The pair were standing near a precipice and were watching the battle from a safe distance. "Why'd you allow her to fight Suzaku?"

"Her decisions are her own." She replied simply.

* * *

Suzaku! I won't let you win. Kallen thought to herself.

Slash Harkens released in quick succession, Lancelot dodged the attack and retaliated with the VARIS rifle. Blotches of light illuminated the sluggish morning sky. She evaded also. Kallen knew that the two of them were well-matched in terms of speed and strength. He was fast and probably stronger than her.

_But if I get close to him, he's dead._ Kallen's fist clenched unconsciously and brows knit in concentration. She smiled a little. _Got to get a bit closer._

Guren and Lancelot were mere blurs in the sky. It was aerial ballet at it's finest. None of them had taken any serious hits yet. Both of them were thinking the exact same thing about each other.

She's good.

He's not bad.

* * *

The battle had been raging for an hour, but none of them were letting up.

"Want to call a stalemate?" Lelouch asked. If C.C. agreed, he'd call it a truce.

C.C. looked at him briefly, "Sure." and inclined her head. "If you can get them to come down here."

* * *

Kallen had an idea. It wasn't the most original thing but it just might work. She got Guren knocked toward a rocky wall on purpose. And just lay there. _What a dirty trick. _

"Kallen?" Suzaku's panicked voice came over the line. He was calling her name over and over but she didn't respond.

He couldn't fly over fast enough. _But that wasn't a particularly strong hit_! His mind protested, unable to believe it. He couldn't have hurt her with just that, could he? Lancelot hovered a few feet from Kallen's Knightmare Frame.

Suddenly, Guren pulled Lancelot into a tight hug.

* * *

"Suzaku!" Lelouch shouted.

Guren's Nuclear Pulse Claw clutched at Lancelot's neck, the ejected particles filled with death released. Suzaku braced himself. _Was this the end?_

C.C. tsk-tsked and pressed a few buttons on her keyboard rapidly. Kallen often did things on impulse, she thought, and let out a heavy sigh.

The two Knightmare Frames crashed loudly on the ground unharmed.

* * *

The Lamperouge estate was simply transformed that evening. The lights from the chandeliers blazed brightly as women in beautiful gowns and men in expensive suits lounged around. The food was excellent and hothouse flowers and ice sculptures adorned the corners.

Kallen and C.C. arrived. After their names had been announced they entered the main ballroom. C.C. wore a strapless gold satin gown, matching gloves and had her hair down and curled at the ends slightly. She looked calm as ever.

Kallen, on the other hand wore a blood-red off-shoulder gown cut low with a fluttery hemline. Her hair was up with wisps falling to the sides of her face. She looked a little annoyed that she had to be attending this. She wasn't a fiancee candidate anyway. More importantly she would likely meet Suzaku here. And she didn't want to see him, at least not for another ten years.

Predictably, Lelouch swooped in and took C.C. away. He had sneaked out of doing his 'Greet everyone-coming-in duty' to be with the green-haired girl. Even Kallen wasn't that dense. She could see that the Prince liked C.C. very much, despite his denying that fact to death.

So there she stood, trying to blend in with the wallpaper, drink in hand.

Kallen breathed a sigh of relief. At least eight young, and not-so-young men had asked her to dance but she was able to turn them down easily. None were particularly troublesome and persistent. Until…

_Speak of the devil…_

-tbc-

A/N: See below. I'm unfortunately not a technical person. Velshard-san was kind enough to provide an awesomely geeky explanation. And here I thought it was really a microwave arm! o_O And I quote:

…Guren's arm it has quite a few names, Fukushahadou I believe is the original Japanese name, Radiant Wave Surger in the english dubbed anime, and the Nuclear Pulse Claw in the mangas (my personal favorite). As for how the arm actually works; since we see the arm occasionally ejecting little gold cartridges my guess is that those cartridges are filled with super compressed radioactive isotopes in a gas state. This radioactive gas is probably released into a spherical ignition chamber somewhere in the arm where it is bombarded by high intensity microwave radiation from all sides to create a very small scale fission reaction. All the energy from this micro nuclear detonation is then released through the emitter in the Nuclear Pulse Claw's palm. Also if the Guren's NPC really functioned by simply releasing microwave radiation it would be impossible for it to do as much damage as it does in so short a period of time.

(from wikipedia) Gefjun Disturber (ゲフィオンディスターバー, _Gefion Disutābā_**?**), named after the Norse goddess of chastity Gefjun; it is a force field generator that disables all sakuradite-powered technology within its area of effect.

…well, put these two together. C.C. caught them in the nick of time. Thanks for the awesome reviews! This chapter was heavy on my weakness: technical stuff. Hahaha! So if there are any errors, feel free to point them out. Except the part about Guren, Lancelot, Shinkiro and Gawain being together! This is an AU after all. ^_^;


	5. Chapter 5

Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass. I own my brain, which is, unfortunately, 80% water. (Hey, yours is too!) XD

Chapter 5

-

Lelouch stood close to C.C., unmindful of the stares he had earned them. It was nothing short of disgraceful that he had so obviously singled out his choice so early in the evening. So many women had been eyeing him all evening that he wanted nothing more than to ditch this place.

C.C. could hardly conceal her amusement. "I didn't know I was first in your heart, Lelouch." She smiled, ever-sarcastic.

Lelouch thought she looked simply stunning that night, apart from all that sass, though he felt that even a friendly compliment could be misconstrued as him, er, _liking_ her. _Not that he did. He didn't dang it!_

"You're dressed in black though," C.C. said. She reached up and adjusted his cravat gently. "Perhaps you thought it was a funeral?" she snickered.

Lelouch was surprised at her uncharacteristic (and forward) action and caught her wrist firmly. "Well, any man married to you would be in mourning." He retorted. "Let's go someplace else."

Ignoring raised eyebrows and quiet murmurs of disapproval from the crowd, he pulled C.C., who for the sake of the gathered crowd was play-acting all complacent and meek, along with him. Lelouch nearly scoffed at this_, it really didn't suit her._

He bumped into Milly, who was unfortunately, on the lookout for him. Shirley stood shyly behind her. "My dear Lelouch! Who is this lovely girl? I don't think we've been introduced!" she exclaimed and peered behind Lelouch at C.C. who stared right back.

"I—uh.." Lelouch backed off slightly. Of all people, that nosy Milly! _This was bad._ "Maybe later!" He said as he bolted off in the opposite direction, C.C. in tow.

"Wait! Lelouch!" Milly refused to let it go. Seeing how distraught he was piqued her curiosity even more. She was hot on his heels. "Let's follow him Shirley! We haven't been introduced yet!"

* * *

"Hello, Kallen." Suzaku sidled up to the redhead nonchalantly. He hadn't meant to come up to her tonight. She was probably upset because she hadn't killed him. Yet.

The girl's whole posture stiffened. "Leave me alone. I'm sickly." She said.

"Oh, the Waltz is starting." Suzaku said, ignoring her. He pulled Kallen along. "You owe me a dance for nearly killing me today."

The redhead blushed. "Fine, have it your way!" Kallen said annoyedly.

* * *

An old Duchess was sitting with Lady Cecile watching the dancers on the floor. "Oh, that is your ward, Kallen Stadfeld?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. She must be feeling better today. Such delicate health." Cecile shook her head.

"Tell me, are they dancing or are she and the Japanese Prime Minister's son trying to stomp on each other's feet?" the old woman squinted.

"Oh my. You're right."

* * *

"Lelouch!" Milly shouted as she shoved through the crowd. "Come back! We just want to talk." She and Shirley shoved through the crowd and accidentally knocked off drinks from an unfortunate servant's tray. "Oh, no! I'm sorry!" she apologized.

The said Prince took advantage of the ruckus and continued running. "Lelouch." His green-haired companion said and tugged at his sleeve slightly.

"What is it now?" he growled. They'd catch up any minute now and Milly'd wring every bit of juicy information from him. _He couldn't tell her anything about C.C.!_

She stopped running. "Are you tired?" he asked.

C.C. rolled her eyes. "No, but these shoes are killing me." She pointed to her four-inch cream satin stilettos. Lelouch looked at her feet and wondered how she could walk, much less run in those.

"Don't laugh, okay?" he muttered.

C.C. eeped in surprise as Lelouch scooped her up in his arms and took off running again. She had meant to stop just to take off her shoes, but this was much better. She buried her face into his chest and giggled.

"I thought I told you not to laugh?" Lelouch nearly twitched from suppressed laughter, and was glad that she could not see his face. That crazy witch, actually, _giggling_? This was just so ridiculous. From what he knew of her, pizza was the only thing that made her this giddy.

* * *

"I wonder where C.C. and Lelouch went." Kallen asked.

She and Suzaku were now sitting on one of the large couches after having tired of trying to cripple each other while dancing.

"Making out?" Suzaku wondered aloud. Kallen shot him a dirty look.

* * *

All their running brought them to a secluded area. They were near the maids' quarters, which was now empty because all the maids were busy at the party. Milly and Shirley, now accompanied by Rivalz still managed to keep up with them.

"You're a slow runner." C.C. remarked as she clung to Lelouch's coat. _She had to admit he was comfy. But still slow._

"Well, I have to carry your dead weight, C.C. just because you're wearing ridiculous shoes!" Lelouch complained. She was very light, but he was no excellent sprinter.

"Should I be carrying you instead?" C.C. said tartly. She privately thought that Lelouch carrying her was the cutest thing, but didn't say so; she was enjoying herself too much.

"You're such a troublesome woman. Now keep quiet." Lelouch said as he fumbled in the darkness. The maids' quarters was deserted now and the all the lights were out. He pried open a large antique closet, set C.C. down and followed inside. "We're hiding here for a while." Lelouch whispered as he pulled on the heavy door. It slammed shut loudly.

* * *

"Hey, you heard that?" Rivalz said as he looked toward the sound of the noise.

"It seems to be coming from the linen closets." Shirley said.

"Ha! We got them!" Milly grinned.

Over a hundred closets greeted them when they reached the area. "Oh, no! I didn't know there were these many!" Milly wailed.

"Madame President, are we seriously going to open each and every one of them?" Rivalz asked.

Milly fixed her hair and smoothed her gown. "That Lelouch!" she sniffed. _What a waste!_ "I guess we should get back to the ball now." They turned to leave.

* * *

Inside the closet, Lelouch smirked at his triumph. It seemed like the search party was headed right in front of their closet as the footsteps were getting louder. He flicked out his cellphone and looked for C.C.

The dim blue cellphone light fell upon the girl, and Lelouch was horrified to see...

...that C.C. looked like she was desperately holding in a sneeze. _There was only one course of action._

_

* * *

  
_

"We should look for them you know?" A bleary-eyed Suzaku suggested. After the dancing came the drinking, of course.

"I" *hic* "think sho too!" Kallen agreed cheerfully. "You're really kind ooof cute. Thanksh for *hic* the dance. It wash fun spinning around, ne, Spinzaku? She giggled.

_Oh, great_. Suzaku thought as he buried his face in his hands woefully.

* * *

_If he didn't do this, they would be caught_. Lelouch swallowed and moving toward C.C., crushed his lips to hers. _She tasted like champagne and strawberries, and her lips were so soft,_ he thought as the two of them fell onto the fluffy linens.

The sneeze never happened.

* * *

"Gosh, and I thought we caught them for sure..." Lelouch heard Shirley say, as they passed right by. The footsteps became quieter and disappeared completely.

Lelouch began to push himself off C.C., who was lying quite motionless under him, once again thankful that she couldn't see him now. In the darkness, a slim hand cupped his cheek. Lelouch froze.

"…"

"You didn't want to get caught _that_ badly?" C.C. asked.

Lelouch shifted nervously_, she got_ _him._ _Did she know that he actually wanted to do that? Well, whatever._ "Yes. I hate losing." He admitted.

C.C. withdrew her hand from his cheek like it burned. "Oh." Was all she said.

The dark-haired young man sank down again, placing his weight on his elbows, careful not to crush C.C. "You intrigue me." He said and threaded his fingers in her long hair, and tilted her chin upwards, moving closer to her. "I think I...."

The pair jumped in surprise as the closet door slammed open. "Prince Lelouch?!" someone shouted from outside. A lot of guests were crammed into the narrow hallway in front of the closet, and at least six guards were shining blinding halogen lights into their faces. Milly and company were peering from behind the guards. Suzaku staggered with an unconscious Kallen over his shoulder. Lady Cecile had her hand over her mouth in shock. Everybody else was _gawking _at their compromising position.

_So. Royally. Screwed._

**tbc**

-

-

-

A/N: Oh my. Methinks they were all bordering on OOC. Or already very much so? Do leave any comment.s. Thanks for reading.~


	6. Chapter 6

Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass. Uhm, but I think you knew that already?

-

**Chapter 6**

The next morning, Lelouch listened stoically to a long sermon from his mother. Empress Marianne was not pleased with her son's wayward behavior. Word had not reached the Emperor yet, but Lelouch was sure that he'd hear another one from him too.

"You are dismissed, Lelouch. We are very disappointed." She shook her head disapprovingly.

Part of his punishment, was that he would not be allowed to see or otherwise communicate with C.C. for an unspecified amount of time. He never got into this kind of trouble. Ever.

It was quite a scandal. Rumors of his "lover" spread virally on the internet and pictures of the two of them were plastered on tabloids and magazines. It wasn't like he wanted to be linked to anyone else anyway. _No, he did not just think that!_

Likewise, C.C. was detained. Lady Cecile was so mortified at C.C.'s behavior that she didn't notice that Kallen had passed out drunk. "Young lady! I thought you were dependable and could conduct yourself with propriety." she had curtailed all C.C.'s activities and not allowed her to leave their manor.

* * *

C.C. accepted her punishment without resisting, but the gears in her head where whirring rapidly_. Darnn Lelouch for getting her into such a mess!_ She was also blaming herself partly; for still associating with him, when she already had what she wanted: Gawain. Boys were really trouble, she thought crossly. Especially Lelouch.

Now how the heck was she supposed to rescue those children when she was cooped up here?

* * *

Suzaku, nursing a hangover, decided to visit Lelouch. He found his friend in a rather dark mood.

"And on top of it all, I still haven't gotten Gawain back." Lelouch grumbled.

Suzaku suspected that he was this way not because of this, but instead because Lelouch wasn't allowed to see C.C., but wisely kept mum about it.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better...C.C.'s using Gawain for something really important." Suzaku carelessly let out. _Oops! He promised Kallen that he wouldn't say anything to Lelouch about this, but then again, he hadn't said anything yet, did he?_

"Which is?" Lelouch looked sharply at Suzaku. "Why wasn't I informed about this?"

"Uh. Well—" Suzaku scratched his head.

* * *

Later that night, Lelouch sneaked out. It wasn't that difficult, despite the tightened security, he was a genius after all, so disabling the security system was simple.

Despite much urging (and pleading), Suzaku still refused to say anything, so Lelouch decided to visit C.C. and get answers from her instead. _No, it wasn't to see her_; he just needed to know what she was using Gawain for. A little voice in his head that sounded surprisingly like C.C. smirked_, Miss me already?_

He wouldn't have been caught dead doing this, ever. It was like a scene from some cheesy romance novel.

But this was a special case. Darned it was. Lelouch was climbing up to C.C.'s window with the aid of a sturdy vine that conveniently crept along to her balcony.

Lelouch clutched at the vine for dear life. It would have been a long drop down if he lost his hold.

* * *

C.C. couldn't sleep. She was tossing and turning, trying to come up with a plan. She gave up and pushed away the covers. No point forcing herself to sleep. The green-haired girl stood up and opened her balcony window. It was a breezy moonless night. She gave a little gasp, as it was apparent that someone was climbing up her window. It usually took a lot to shock C.C. She ran and grabbed a poker from her fireplace, ready to whack the intruder.

"A little help here, C.C." a strained, but familiar voice said.

She calmed down. _No way! Could it be?_

"Lelouch?"

The young man finally managed to clamber over the balcony and he slouched on the floor, obviously in bad shape, scratches on his arms and face, grass and soil stains on his clothes.

C.C. stared at him, face expressionless. _What on earth was this idiot thinking? _"What are you doing here?"

"I—want to know what you're using Gawain for?" Lelouch said, trying to catch his breath. She didn't even looked like she _cared_ that he was climbing up her window in the middle of the night.

"..."

"Well, what?"

In a blink of an eye, Lelouch was flat on his back. C.C. was straddling him and pulling off his jacket. And everything else. The Britannian Prince was so shocked he could not string words together to form a sentence.

"I'm going to need these." C.C. said, looking at him like he was a not-so-bright child.

"What in the world are you doing you Witch!?" Lelouch screeched. He was now in a state of undignified undress , and was blushing to his toes, courtesy of C.C. "Give me back my clothes_!" If anyone caught them like this, he was dead sure Empress Marianne would have him exiled. Or executed. _

"Turn around!" C.C. commanded. "And be quiet!"

Lelouch obeyed sullenly. He was already sorry he came. _C.C. was evil!_ "Can I have my clothes back now?" he asked in a quieter tone. There was a rustling of clothes.

"...."

"I'm borrowing these for a while, Lelouch." C.C. said smiling. She was dressed in his clothes! And didn't look half-bad in it. His bulky jacket hid her curves and his trousers fit her perfectly, after she had tucked her hair in a cap, C.C. was a passable "boy". He stared bug-eyed at her, when realization dawned on him. No frickin' way.

His fears were confirmed as C.C. rummaged through her closet and produced a short frilly gingham dress. He tore his horrified gaze from C.C. to the awful dress. Lelouch feared that his ability to speak was lost.

"You don't like it?" C.C. pouted. "I have more."

Lelouch staggered forward and fell to the floor with a thud. "Lelouch?" C.C. poked the unconscious young man. No response.

_Tsk. Do I have to do everything myself?_ C.C.'s face brightened. At least she could pretty him up now that he wasn't struggling! _Since he didn't like the gingham dress..bright-yellow Cheese-kun dress it is._

_

* * *

  
_

"Lelouch, Lelouch?" someone was calling him. Lelouch frowned and sat up. It felt kind of peculiar. _Oh crap!_

C.C. was calling out to him from the balcony, already on her way down. "What are you doing, Lelouch? Hurry up, we're eloping!"

**tbc**

**A/N: **Hello again, dear person reading this fic!  I hope you review even though it kind of, sucked. Hahaha!~ Till next time.


	7. Chapter 7

Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass.

**Chapter 7  
**

-

Lelouch walked sulkily beside C.C. She was looking around nonchalantly despite the commotion. Yet again, the two of them hit the news. The televisions blared out gossip that the Prince of Britannia had eloped with a green-haired foreign Princess, C.C. She was annoyed but was, no doubt expecting this, so they were in disguise. It was predictable, Lelouch was as high-profile as high-profile could get.

In disguise indeed!

Lelouch looked down at his appalling getup for the nth time that day. He was dressed in a bright yellow dress that reached to his ankles, and was covered with a weird childish mascot print, that Cheese-kun-whatever-it-was that had to do with pizza. Thankfully, the design was simple. He was also wearing a curly blonde wig and a summer hat. Lelouch wanted to throw up and was extremely paranoid about being recognized.

After they had (with much difficulty, in Lelouch's case) gotten down C.C.'s balcony, they made their way to the outskirts of the city, in an outlying town Lelouch had never seen before.

* * *

They entered the local restaurant and sat down. It was still early evening and not many people were inside.

"Got any money?" C.C. asked Lelouch. He grumbled in reply then looked up in surprise as a familiar-looking, wavy-haired man entered the door and approached a waitress. He held up two pictures and the waitress shook her head.

It was Jeremiah Gottwald. And he was out looking for them.

C.C. looked at the man from the corner of her eye. Oh, Britannian military, after them? _Interesting._

Lelouch concentrated on his food. He too had noticed Jeremiah and it frankly made him nervous. Jeremiah Gottwald was loyal to the royal family to the point of fanaticism. He would follow their wayward son to hell if the need be.

"I need to use the bathroom." Lelouch said and stood up.

C.C. smiled mischievously. "So which one are you using?"

"Shut up, Witch." Lelouch scowled.

* * *

Lelouch used the mens room. How dare that C.C. insinuate that he'd have trouble deciding? What a twisted sense of humor she had!

Thankfully, the restroom was empty except for some kid. He frowned at a little boy who was staring at him curiously. "What is it, kid?" he asked gruffly. The little boy backed off.

* * *

"The Britannian agent still isn't leaving." C.C. told Lelouch in a whisper when he got back. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Maybe we should get going—"

"Mommy! That girl was in the Boys' Restroom!" a voice said loudly. It was the little boy from a while back, and he was pointing at Lelouch.

"Hush, dear. That's rude." The mother looked apologetically at the pair. C.C. smirked. Lelouch scowled harder at the child who stuck his tongue out at him.

"Do you realize we have a bigger problem now?" C.C. sighed. Jeremiah looked with interest at the blond "girl", but he stayed where he was, drinking his orange juice calmly.

"No kidding. You know who that man is?" Lelouch muttered. Of all the people they could have run across, it just had to be that weirdo.

"I don't really want to know." C.C. said blandly. "Got any plans?"

Lelouch looked outside. Jeremiah had better not have any backup or else they were done for. "See that jeep over there?"

* * *

Jeremiah looked warily at the suspicious couple. The "girl" got up and went in the direction of the restroom for the second time in ten minutes. The "boy" exited the door. Unfortunately, Jeremiah was alone. Which one should he follow?

* * *

Lelouch locked the restroom door behind him as he struggled through a tiny air vent. Just as Lelouch predicted, the Britannian agent followed him. This should buy them some time. He only hoped that C.C. was good at hotwiring vehicles.

Stupid dress! It was ripped in several places now, and was still getting caught in every possible nail and corner. Lelouch dragged himself through the vent panting from exhaustion. Jeremiah was now apparently breaking down the door.

"Lelouch, you slowpoke." C.C. was standing outside, tapping her foot impatiently while watching his futile attempts to exit the vent.

The Britannian Prince looked irately at her. C.C. pulled his wig off. "Doesn't suit you." She said. To his chagrin, Lelouch got out of the vent easily when the wig was off.

* * *

They zoomed off, C.C. at the wheel.

"PRINCE!!!!" Jeremiah howled as he broke down the door. It was too late! He looked at the open air vent and discarded blond wig. They escaped!

Jeremiah ran outside and boarded his car. They couldn't be far. "This is 173-O Target has been spotted. Request backup. I'll send you the coordinates now." Jeremiah would catch them himself if it killed him.

Lelouch looked back. Definitely not good.

"Lelouch, I'm driving us off the cliff. Just stay close to me." C.C. said.

"What!?" Lelouch was convinced that C.C. was crazy.

The soldiers were closing in. "Lelouch!" C.C. dove onto him as shots were fired, blowing one of their tires and sending the jeep careening over the edge of the cliff and into the river below.

* * *

Lelouch looked blankly at the seemingly slumbering girl. At least she looked like she was just asleep. There were no bullet holes on her, despite the torn shirt and dried blood matting it. _Was she hit anywhere?_ He had dragged the two of them from the river and started a fire, wondering how on earth they both survived the long drop. It was getting cold so he pulled her into his arms. She was warm. _Alive._

The Britannian Prince laughed like he was going mad. He probably was.

"What's so funny Lelouch?" C.C. cracked open an eye and closed it again. The green-haired girl snuggled closer to Lelouch's chest, making him blush. "It's so cold. I want to sleep." She said.

Lelouch opened his mouth to say something, but decided to keep quiet. He smoothed her hair gently. She looked so vulnerable. It was different from the times she was playing innocent, she looked so fragile now that he thought she would break in his arms. He didn't mind that she was using him as a human blanket at the moment, and was practically plastered on him. It actually felt _good_.

He lay back on the cold bark of the tree they were leaning on and decided that he'd stay with her. No matter what weird schemes she had, he'd back her up. Because he was bored, he rationalized, pushing back a voice in his head that proclaimed odd feelings for the girl. No, he didn't even like her!

* * *

"I—uh, hello Kallen." Suzaku said as the two of them sat down for tea. Lelouch and C.C. suddenly disappeared without a word and it was likely Kallen knew where they went. Nunnaly was worried sick and had asked Suzaku to look for her dear brother.

Kallen sighed and dismissed the maid who had served them tea. "Well, Kururu-, I mean Suzaku, I don't know where they went either."

Suzaku's eyes widened with surprise. "You mean they really...eloped?"

"I don't think so! " Kallen exclaimed. "You shouldn't believe everything in the news!"

"In that case, we should at least try to look for them. They could be in trouble." Suzaku said.

"Later tonight." The red-haired girl said. "Try not to get caught, okay?"

**tbc**

-

-

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I kind of stalled cause of...personal issues. ^^; I keep forgetting to answer LunAttik's questions! Gomen...I think one was how Lelouch and C.C. were found in **that** particular closet, in chapter 5. Answer: they were distracted and didn't notice the guards checking all the closets. Other queries will hopefully get answered in the next chapter/s.

Hmmm...thanks to all who reviewed and are reading this fic. :P

Velshard-san! Get well soon (and upload your fic!)


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Chase  
Category: Anime/Manga » Code Geass  
Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass. I own two dogs and a stethoscope. :P

-

**Chapter 8**

-

"C.C." Lelouch grumbled. "Let's swap clothes now. There's no point, since they know it's us already."

The green-haired girl pouted. "But you look cute in that dress."

Lelouch and C.C. had begun walking at the crack of dawn, and they just arrived at another sleepy town. Lelouch had no idea where they were going but followed anyway. Someone just had to keep that girl out of trouble.

* * *

"I say we bring Guren!" Kallen said angrily. She and Suzaku had been arguing for nearly the whole night and had yet to formulate a good plan to look for Lelouch and C.C. They had met up in the hangar of C.C. and Kallen's manor past midnight.

"But Lancelot is more powerful, and if we ever engage the enemy, we'd have an advantage." Suzaku argued. Kallen was so stubborn. Why couldn't she understand that his Knightmare was the better option?

"You're just a chauvinist pig!" Kallen finished and crossed her arms across her chest. "It was a mistake to think I could team up with the likes of you!"

_Stubborn girl_

_Self-righteous bastard_

Suzaku crossed the room toward her and slammed his fist above her head, face dangerously close to hers. Kallen stared up at him in utter shock, speechless. _They were close enough to kiss!_

"Who's a chauvinist?" a voice said. Both Kallen and Suzaku froze in panic. Someone found them!

A tall, dark-haired woman entered. Kallen curtsied and Suzaku bowed. Both bewildered beyond words and thinking the same thing. _What in the blazes was Empress Marianne doing here?_

_

* * *

  
_

"Might I know where we're going, C.C.?" Lelouch asked. They left the town, changed clothes, much to Lelouch's relief, and got themselves a quaint mode of transportation: a horse-drawn cart. Lelouch had raised an eyebrow and wondered aloud why they didn't get anything more convenient, like at least a truck. It wasn't like he was low on funds or anything. C.C. ignored him and proceeded.

Lelouch was dressed this time as a cart driver, his face hidden under a wide-brimmed hat. As if anyone would see him here in the middle of nowhere anyway. C.C. was his passenger at the back of the cart, and she looked at him lazily. "Oh, just drive on."

Finally, C.C. found the spot in the mountains where she hid Gawain. How she did this Lelouch could only imagine.

"You know I've been going along with this not knowing anything." Lelouch frowned as the two of them got on his Knightmare Frame. C.C. looked at Lelouch determinedly, he was already helping her, so he might as well tag along, she thought.

"But you'll help me with this?" C.C. said softly. She really didn't like asking for help, especially from Lelouch.

The dark-haired Prince bent over from his higher seat. _What was up with her?_ "Sure, I will."

* * *

Kallen and Suzaku found themselves in quite a pinch. They looked guiltily at the ground, not saying anything, like children caught with their hands in a cookie jar.

Marianne looked at the two teenagers with amusement. Kallen's expression was a mixture of sullen resentment and contrition while Suzaku looked like he would pass out any moment now. _Was it because she caught them almost about to kiss?_

"Relax, you two are my son's friends, aren't you?" she said. "I just have a favor to ask."

* * *

They reached the facility hidden in the mountains, but there was nothing inside. After they had blown the entrance open and destroyed plenty of equipment easily, thanks to Gawain. C.C. got off and looked around. _No...what happened? Were they too late to save the children?_

Lelouch followed. It was eerily quiet now. _So, where were these children C.C. told him about?_

_

* * *

  
_

A short, long-haired figure sat watching the security cameras and winced as more explosions went off. A few minutes ago, the entire security system had been hacked into and rendered useless. Lelouch now had his grudging admiration.

"Marianne!" V.V. scowled. "Your son is wrecking my facility! Just how far are you taking this?"

"Don't forget that he's your nephew too, V.V." Marianne smiled. "Just a bit more! Can't you see they're getting along so splendidly?"

Empress Marianne stood up and left the room. _There was work to be done!_

_

* * *

  
_

"Did you hear that?" C.C. asked as they heard footsteps echoing along one of the hallways. For the guards not to show up till now, was just way too suspicious.

"C.C.!" Lelouch dove into the green-haired girl as two uniformed guards started shooting at her. Luckily, she wasn't hit.

"Let's run for it!" C.C. and Lelouch sprinted for the nearest exit. C.C. took out her own gun and started shooting at the guards as well. To her surprise, the guard she shot at just barely missed the bullet thanks to the other one. Not only that, now, they seemed to be arguing.

"Is there a problem C.C.?" Lelouch asked worriedly. It surprised even him that he wasn't tired yet. Must be adrenaline or something. Fortunately, the guards didn't seem to be shooting at them anymore.

C.C. shook her head. "Nothing." _This was really so…unusual._

_

* * *

  
_

"The Empress just told us to catch them, Kallen!" Suzaku said, as he helped her up. "Not kill them."

"Hmph. Aren't you forgetting that these are just duds, Suzaku!" Kallen huffed, a bit flummoxed that Suzaku, had in fact, saved her. C.C. wasn't using duds. It just felt so unreal, shooting at her cousin like that.

"In that case, aim for Lelouch." Suzaku winked. "He's much slower"

* * *

Lelouch and C.C. continued disabling the security in the rooms they passed. If Lelouch's hunch was correct, they'd reach the control room any moment now.

The last metal door whizzed open as Lelouch rapidly tapped in security codes. _Psh. This was so easy._ C.C. frowned and approached a chair facing away from them. She pointed her gun at it. "Turn around. Where are the children?" she said evenly.

The chair swiveled around and V.V. looked at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said coolly.

C.C. shot a bullet two inches from his ear without batting an eyelash. "You heard me." She said in her usual monotone. Lelouch noted that she was a bit more agitated that usual, but hid it extremely well.

Lelouch took the gun from C.C., who let him. "I'll do it C.C." he said. Lelouch didn't want to see what the green-haired girl looked like when she was really, really pissed. It was probably better if he took care of this.

V.V. looked like he had frozen into his position, mouth slightly ajar and knuckles white on the armrests. He'd kill Marianne as soon as he got out of this.

"Lelouch! Stop this now!"

The Britannian Prince spun around. "Mother?"

* * *

How it came to this. He would never, ever understand. Lelouch thought as he looked at his mother, her words not quite registering.

They were now back at the Palace, C.C., Kallen, Suzaku, Lelouch and Empress Marianne were taken home by a private jet that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Lelouch continued to stare blankly at his mother, and let out a brilliant, "Huh?" in response to her lengthy explanation of this debacle. He couldn't believe it.

"I'm really sorry." Marianne repeated. She probably went a bit overboard with this plan of hers, but it just *had* to be done.

"So, everything was a setup from the start?" Kallen asked incredulously.

Marianne nodded. "No experiments done on the Geass children. I purposely let C.C. and you find out about it, knowing you'd come after the facility."

"But who were those children I saw at the orphanage?" Suzaku interrupted.

"No way! Child actors?" Kallen gasped. _Empress Marianne meant business!_

They were all silent for a while, until Suzaku and Kallen stood up and excused themselves. Not really wanting to see how this twisted family affair resolved itself.

C.C. and Lelouch had yet to say anything the whole time. The green-haired girl was exceptionally silent but looked, for the most part, like she was very relieved that there were actually no Geass children involved in this.

"—but why go through all this trouble, Mother?" Lelouch asked, now recovered from the initial shock.

Marianne rose and whispered something to Lelouch, whose eyes widened a bit. C.C. quirked her head to the side, not hearing a thing. _Like mother, like son?_

"I'm going now." The Empress said. She approached C.C. and touched a gloved hand to her cheek, "Nice to finally meet you, my dear."

-

**tbc**

**-  
**

**A/N**: I know, I know. What a useless chapter!~ Anyway, hopefully, things will be resolved in the last (next) one. Anyhow, thanks to the readers who reviewed chapter 7, I think I wasn't able to reply due to general toxicity. Thanks for reading. :P


	9. Chapter 9

Author: Angel-wing2  
Language: English

Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass. Hopefully, this won't be the last time I have to say this.

-

**Chapter 9**

"_**Love makes the tamest spirit wild, and the wildest spirit tame."**_

**-**

-

Lelouch sat at his study staring at the calculus book boredly. He was supposed to be studying for upcoming finals. Even Ashford didn't give him a break. It was a dull, dull subject that he found easy. Inevitably, his thoughts kept wandering back to a certain green-haired girl.

_Witch put a spell on him, that's what._

_

* * *

  
_

Suzaku stared in shock at the letter in his hands, an invitation to Kallen Stadfeld's debutante party. It was alright to attend her party..but it clearly stated in the invitation that the official Escort to the debutante was....Suzaku Kururugi. Unless there were other Suzaku Kururugis around that would mean, it was _him._

_Did she...like him now?_ Suzaku shook his head in denial. There must be some kind of mistake.

* * *

Kallen nearly ripped her invitation into shreds as she stared at a large velvet-covered pink and red missive. In the chaos of the past week she had all but forgotten her own birthday. Having an outdated coming-out party was already kind of annoying, but this was the last straw, why was that chauvinist her escort?

Lady Cecile entered with a dozen maids all bearing debutante gowns. "These are your gowns dear, go pick one for your big night!" she cooed.

Kallen fought the urge to roll her eyes. _What the hell!_

_

* * *

  
_

Suzaku was walking his horse to the stable, still wondering about his predicament. Maybe Kallen wanted him as her escort so she could kill him at the party. It was a possibly. _Stubborn tomboy still holding a ridiculous grudge. _Too bad, he really thought she was cute, although being the way she was, you could forget she was a girl altogether.

He was still lost in thought when a hand clamped over his mouth and before he knew it, Suzaku was struggling in the hay. He fought back, but his attacker was too fast.

"Stop struggling. Suzaku." A voice whispered angrily, and the attacker kicked him in the shin painfully.

Suzaku winced, "Kallen?" he turned around with much difficulty and confirmed that it was indeed her. "Couldn't wait for the party, huh?" he asked.

Kallen looked at him in annoyance. "That was Lady Cecile's idea." She scoffed and attempted a poor imitation of Lady Cecile's "Oh, because you two are such good friends, I thought he'd make a splendid escort."

Suzaku laughed at this, but stopped when Kallen glared at him. "Not funny."

He scooted closer to her. "Am I that bad, really?"

Kallen frowned. "Can't you like leave the country or something?"

The brown-haired young man moved in for the kill. _Why did it seem that they were forever bickering over anything and everything?_ "Not happening." He said.

Kallen wanted to inch away from this intrusion to her personal space but found that she was frozen to the spot. She felt light-headed and suspected that her face had turned as crimson as her hair. She had come here to tell Suzaku off, but why was she the intimidated one now?

Suzaku buried his nose in her hair and sniffed, Kallen smelled like lilacs and Japanese green tea. He boldly brushed away a few wispy strands of hair that had fallen across her smooth cheek, amazed that she wasn't punching him already. Placing his head on the crook of her neck, he murmured. "Let it be me, Kallen."

* * *

At Kallen's party, Lelouch found himself in front of a large oak-framed bathroom mirror talking to himself. He was expecting C.C. to be present and was wondering what to say to her.

"Since everyone thinks we eloped and I had my way with you C.C., just be my fiancé already." Lelouch said to a mirror. He shook his head. _Bad lines._

"Since my mother chose you for me, you have no choice, do you?" Lelouch tried again._ Why did it sound so idiotic?_

"..."

Lelouch nearly stumbled backwards. "What are you doing here? How long have you been standing there, Witch?"

C.C. smirked from where she stood at the door. "You were using the bathroom too long. Isn't it a bit too late to be practicing pick-up lines?"

Lelouch scowled and held his arm out to her. C.C. smiled and took it. Since she was here already, he'd make her fall for him. It probably wouldn't be too hard. He hoped.

C.C. was wearing a dramatic midnight blue velvet brocade dress cut low and beaded with thousands of crystals. Her emerald hair was loose and curled slightly at the ends. She looked like an Empress already, and certainly acted like one, Lelouch thought. _An equal, most definitely his equal._

_

* * *

  
_

"Presenting, the debutante Lady Kallen von Stadfeld, and her Escort Lord Suzaku Kururugi" The nobles clapped politely as the reluctant couple descended the wide oak staircase.

Kallen was dressed in a frothy satin and lace debutante gown so frilly, she could not have chosen it. Lady Cecile chose it again this time. It was still very elegant with its mother-of-pearl embroidery and tulle. The redheaded girl smiled brightly as photographers took their pictures. _When will the hurting stop?_

"Aren't you glad you let me be your escort?" Suzaku asked as they twirled across the marble ballroom floor for the debutante's dance.

"Don't push it." Kallen said.

Suzaku grinned.

* * *

At nearly midnight, the party was still in full swing. It was so noisy in the ballroom that C.C. and Lelouch had relocated to an outdoor table in the garden beside a fishpond. The white paper lanterns hung on the low trees were so dim that C.C. could see the moon reflected on the still water. She was distracted for a while staring at the pale orb in the sky while nibbling on a pizza slice. It was then she noticed that Lelouch was imbibing wine like it was water.

"Aren't you drinking a bit too much?" C.C. asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lelouch looked at her wine glass and raised it. "Your eyes are the same color as the amber champagne, C.C.? Odd."

They had been left by themselves for most of the evening, suspiciously so. Lelouch had been drinking

a lot, and as C.C. guessed correctly, he had nearly no tolerance for alcohol. She, on the other hand was still "snacking" on her pizza with champagne. Darn Lelouch for getting drunk on her while she was still having pizza.

"Aren't you having a bit too much pizza?" Lelouch shot back smirking.

Although none of his words were slurred, it was obvious that Lelouch wasn't completely sober. C.C. noted the half-lidded eyes, strikingly purple and looking sharper than usual. She was wondering what to do with him when he grabbed her hand and pressed her palm to his cheek.

C.C. blushed and tried to pull her hand back, but he held on to her. "What are you doing, Lelouch?" C.C. asked.

He didn't answer but closed his eyes. C.C. stopped trying to extricate her hand from him and looked at him crossly. "This is ridiculous. You're keeping away from wine from now on." She muttered and grudgingly let go of the pizza slice in her other hand.

Lelouch stood up and pulled C.C. up with him from her seat as he stood. They half-staggered, half-walked a short distance from their table, a little closer to the pond. _What on earth was he up to?_

The Britannian Prince let out a deep breath. He wasn't drunk. It was just a few drinks to give him courage. _Ask her. Ask her now._ C.C. was looking at him like he was touched in the head.

Lelouch got down on one knee. "C.C., will you marry me?"

C.C. rapidly turned from pale to pink as the words sank in. Was this idiot really proposing? So he was that drunk. She got a hold of herself quickly and decided to call his bluff.

"Yeah, whatever. Can we go back now?" she waved her hand dismissively and turned to return to their table. She was sure he'd forget all this in the morning.

Lelouch stared at her wide-eyed. Did she just agree? But why was she walking away so quickly? His foggy brain told him in a slurred voice that he should at least kiss her. "Wait, C.C." He caught the green-haired girl by the shoulders and touched his lips to hers. This was...more intoxicating than anything else.

Unfortunately for the pair, they met at an awkward angle, lurched backward, and with the fatal combination of Lelouch's unsteady gait and C.C.'s heavy gown, fell into the pond with a loud splash.

"Your Majesty!" Servants were scurrying everywhere and people were crowding around.

Why on earth did this feel like deja vu? Lelouch groaned.

* * *

The next day, V.V. and Marianne were having tea at one of the estates of the Britannian royalty. It was a cool, breezy day, but it did nothing to cheer the irritable brother-in-law, Marianne thought as she sipped her tea daintily.

"So did your plan work?" V.V. asked looking at the Empress.

She nodded in reply. "At least I think so. There was only so much we could do."

"I don't know why you'd want to fix your son up with a conniving witch." V.V. said sarcastically. "Is it because she's so much like your scheming self?"

"Be sure to attend the wedding." Marianne smiled sweetly.

**~Fin~**

**-  
**

A/N: I hope you liked.~ I must confess that I had a hard time writing this last chapter. It was still fun toward the end though. Lelouch and C.C. are the OTP of Code Geass!~ ^_^ Well, anyway, thank you to all those reading this fic and I'd heart it if you left a review of any kind.

Peace out~!

Angel-Wing2◊


End file.
